Light-dimmer.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK A. CHENETTE, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 CHARLES J'. MUDONALD, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

LIGHT-DINNER.

Application tiled June 18, 1917.

To all whom z't may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. CUENETTE, a citizen of the United States, residing at fol-cester, in the county of VVOrcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful LightsDimmer, of which the following is a specification.

' This invention relates to a device for dimming a lamp and is particularly adapted for use on automobiles and the like.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a dimmer which will prevent the direct glare from the lamp, particularly the upward part, and yet will permit the light to be thrown a long distance; also to provide a construction of such simple character that it will be very inexpensive to make and sell and one which will hold itself on the lamp vieldingly so that the vibration to which it is subjected will not be apt to dislodge it or interfere with it in any way.l and yet one that is so light in construction that will not be possible for it to injure the lamp. Another object of' the invention in its preferred form is to provide a device of this :n.araeter which can be sold at a very small price and applied to any ordinary lamp without modifying either the lamp or the reflector.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the lamp with a preferred embodiment of in v invention applied thereto, the reflector being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a front view yof the same, and

Fig. 3 is a rear view.

This invention is intended to be applied to an ordinary incandescent lamp 10 usual y mounted `in a parabolic reflector 11. The base 12 of the lain'p is provided with the usual ln'ojections 13 for holding it in position in its socket and in fact the lamp is not modified in any way, any ordinary7 lamp being suitable. lt is applied to the reflector in any of the usual ways.

According' to this invention means is provided whereby the light from the lamp is sluit. off from the reflector in certain portions thereof. The light at the center 0f the reflector is cut oli' absolutely while the light at the sides is cut ofi' in certain zones, particularly above andbelow thelamp so that the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, 1918.

Serial No. 175,399.

light that would be reflected upwardly by the lamp in a direct line is absorbed or rather diffused, and the light is directed mainly by reflection from the sides which will not make a glare into the eyesof persons walking or riding in other vehicles. This mcans is made independent of the lamp itself so that the lamp can be changed and so as to be independent of the particular make of lamp.

As shown in the drawings, these objects are accomplished by an exceedingly simple device in the form of a piece of sheet metal 14 having a central hole 15 therethrough provided with two notches 16 for receiving the pins 13. (')n account of this construct-ion the piece of sheet metal can be placed on the lamp and then turned a little so that it will not readily come off, but as a matters of fact it is held between the base of the lamp and the reflector when the lamp is inserted fully in the position and turned.

This piece of sheet metal is shown as provided with four radial spring arms 17 arranged so that one will be at each side, one at thc top and one at the bottom of the lamp. The side arms, if desired, can be omitted as the principal value of this device comes from the upper and lower arms, butig'it is preferred to have all four of them, thus allowing the light to pass from the lamp backwardly through the notches 18 between these arms, none of which come either at the top or the bottom or the sides, thus cutting the direct reflection from these several angles. This member 14, Vas has been said, is made of a piece of sheet metal stamped or cnt out and the arms are bent up and bent inwardly enough so that they bear with spring pressure at their ends as indicated in Fig. 1 against the lamp bulb. This has the effect of holding the device yieldingly in position on the lamp even when the lamp is removed from the reflector so that no care has to bc taken to hold it in place while removing or replacing the lam d.

The way iu which the reflector is shaded is indicated in a general way in Fig. 2, and thc light portions obviously have their full reflecting effect while the dark portions have practically no light to reflect -from the lamp. This cfl'uctually prevents the glare as has` been stated.

It is to be understood that the member 14 is formed of sheet metal having an inner surface, that is its concave surface, of a dull or substantially non-refiecting character so that when the light strikes it directly from the lam it will be absorbed or diffused instead o being refieeted. It is to be noted also th'at the deviceds spaced from the lamp at all points except at the center and at the ends of the arms, thus giving air circulation so that although some of the light is absorbed there is enough ventilation to prevent excessive heating.

In order to get such a surface as has been mentioned the device can be made of sheet tin and the dull side placed inside, or can be made of aluminum. If desired, the inside surface can be made still less of a reflecting character by painting it or otherwise treating it, but I do not usually find this necessary. It is to be noted of course that having the light diiiusing member or dimmer entirely independent of the lamp any kind of lamp can be used and can be exchanged as often as may be desired.

Some of the advantages of this invention,` but not all of them, can be obtained by making zones, like the shaded portions in Fig. 2 numbered 20 on the mirror, of nonreliecting material, or placing a nonre fiecting surface on the mirror for that purpose. For example, it can be painted black `in those Zones. This will have the effect of diffusing and absorbin the rays in a similar manner to this device, but will not provide the ready interchangeabilityr and air circulation, and will not permit of the application of the invention to reiiectors already on the market.

Althou h I have illustrated and described only two orms of the invention, I am aware of the fact that modifications can be made therein b any person skilled in the art without eparting from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to be limited to all the details of construction herein l shown and described, but what I do claim'is:-

1. The combination with an incandescent lamp and a reflector', of a stationary opa ue member between them comprising a plurality of radial spring arms having spaces between them to permit the light to pass through and extending from the face of the lamp to a point beyond the center of the lamp, spaced from the lamp throughout the length of said member, but the ends of the arms bearin with spring-pressure on the surface of t e lamp at a distance beyond the center to leave substantially the entire front unobstructed so that the member '1s held ieldingly in position on the lamp and may e removed from the reilector with` it.

2. The combination with af lamp and a' refiector, of a stationary opaque member between them supported by the lamp itself and having means for shutting off all the light from the central portion of the reflector, said member comprisin four radial spring arms extending upwardy anddownward y and at both sides of t e center of the lamp, said' arms having spaces between them to permit the light to pass through and extending from the base to a point just beyond the center of the lamp and bearing with spring pressure on the lamp but leaving substantially the entire front unobstructed, whereby the said member is held ieldingly in position on the lam even when the lamp is removed from the re flector.

3. The combination with an electric lamp, of a dimming device comprising a single sheet of metal having a circular o ening at the center' fitting the base of the amp and provided with resilient arms bent part-way around the lamp and bent inwardly at their ends to engage the surface of the lamp at a distance back of the front portion thereof and yieldingly hold it on the lamp` 4. The combination with an electric lam of a dimming device consisting of a single sheet of metal provided with a plurality of arms spaced apart, bent part-way around the lamp and inwardly at their ends to engage the sides of the lamp just beyond its widest portion and yieldingly hohl it thereon.

5. The combination with an electric lam of a dimming device consisting of a sing e sheet of metal having an opening at the center for receiving the base of the lamp and provided with arms bent part Wa around the lamp, and bent inwardly at t ieir ends lto yieldingly hold it on the lamp.

6. The combination with an electric lamp, of a dimming device consisting of a single sheet of metal provided with arms bent part way around the lamp and bent inwardly at their ends to yieldingly hold it on the lamp, said arms being spaced from the lamp at points back of their inwardly bent' en( s to afford spaces for air circulation.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

FRANK A. CHENETTE. 

